A COMMENTARY ON REVELATION CHAPTER 19

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION CHAPTER 19

People will be living to witness the destruction of “Babylon The Great”” better known as “union of Church and State.” In the previous chapter and in verses 9,15, 16, 17, men were witnessing the destruction of Romanism. Christ is on the battlefield and her demise is sure. We are informed in this chapter that God “hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand” (ver.2) Heaven’s ruling class of twenty-four elders are shouting Alleluia. We are then told that our Omnipotent God reigns! He is elsewhere described as Omnific, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. Our God invites us to the “Marriage supper of the Lamb.” This scene is anticipatory; the full vision is reserved for chapter 21. We are now told of a warfare waged by the one who is called Faithful and True: with eyes like as of fire and many crowns on his head and wearing a vesture dipped in the blood of his enemies and his name is called The Word of God. This will be warfare in defense of truth. During this great period of time He will smite the nations; and rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the enemies of truth like grapes in a winepress. Will you join me as we gather at the supper of the great God? Verse twenty tells us that the Beast (Papal Powers) and the false prophet (Mohammedan Powers) are captured and reserved for severer fate than death on the battlefield. The scene ends with God casting them into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Join me with an exposition and analysis of the very verses that describe these scenes. I will give you a tour of the battlefield where the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual.

EXPOSITION ON REVELATION CHAPTER 19

1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

After the fall of Babylon The Great, a multitude in heaven had a victory party. Lots of shouting and hallelujah! The hurrahs were so great that it took John six verses to describe it. There were no sympathies, no tears, no lamentations no sobbing for her demise. After the fall of Babylon The Great there was a victory rally held in heaven. This was a great song of triumph.

2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

This was not a negotiated peace settlement! God had condemned old Babylon the great and now he was going to execute his judgment against her.

3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

Compare notes on 14:11 Take note how the people were shouting with joy.

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”

In this verse we are told that the ruling class in heaven join in the celebration. This ruling class had already held court. The indictment had been handed down, trial proceedings had been conducted, and she was found guilty as charged.

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!”

The voices of praise ring throughout heaven because God had overthrown the whore.

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Thunder and rushing water give us a vivid description of the volume of this shouting that took place that day in heaven. Only an omnipotent (All POWERFUL GOD) could bring down this power. The means by which he brought her down are described in chapter sixteen.

7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

Consummation of this marriage is described in chapter twenty-one. This is somewhat anticipatory; the full vision will be discussed later.

8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

The righteous acts of the saints, exhibited in fidelity to God and hostility to the world, obtained and retained by the grace of God. When you attended a wedding you were required to wear a wedding garment? Matt 22:11,12 “

9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

The wedding invitations have already been sent out. God is asking you for your R.S.V.P. You must answer with joyful duty. You could become one of the chosen few. This is not like those invitations you receive in the mail telling you that you are a winner. Those invitations are mostly from the scam artist. We dispose of such trash in the wastebasket. BUT this invitation has the divine stamp of God on it. He declares it to be the true words of God. With such blessed assurance you will never be ashamed of Jesus.

10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

We do not worship saints, or images, or crucifixes, or potentates, or kings or popes or heavenly beings. Only God is worthy of such worship (Exo, 20:3-5).

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.

Heaven was opened so John could see what God had planned for the future. The general who had won the victory over he foe rode a white horse. In this verse the rider is Jesus and he is to make war with his enemies and defeat them. The Lord sent a pagan nation to trample under foot Israel in the days of Coniah because of their many sins. The entire book of lamentations covers this period of history. God laid waste her dwellings, He rejected her altars, He abandoned his sanctuary, He determined to tear down the walls of Zion, He exiled her king and her princes among the nations. He overthrew them without pity and exalted the horn of her foes. God was angry with them and sent the Babylonians against them. In a similar way the rider on the white horse will take vengeance against Babylon The Great and send an army to destroy her.

12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

His eyes were as penetrating as a laser beam. He can look into the innermost recesses of ones heart to the secret recess of our souls. On His head were many crowns. We crown him Lord of all, We crown him Prince of Peace, We crown him lion of the Tribe of Judah, We crown him Root of David, We crown him Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls, We crown him chief cornerstone, We crown him head of the church, We crown him Alpha and Omega, we crown him King of Kings.

13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

His vesture is dipped in blood from the enemy he is fighting against. His name is the Word of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

The battle had been fought and victory achieved: now they are marching with white raiment in a victory lap. The beast had defied heaven’s authority for 1260 years.

15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” [Psalm 2:9] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

A sharp sword comes from His mouth.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Eph. 6:17

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. 4:12.

This war is described in symbolic terms. The meaning is that the Word of God had prevailed over the beast. The second chapter of Second Thessalonians describes the falling away and the rise of the one who would claim to be God and sit in the temple of God, and then goes on to describe how the Lord would consume him with the Spirit of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of his coming.

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 2 Thess. 2:4-8

The Word of God will break this anti-Christian power of Papal Rome. Jesus, with his faithful warriors, will defeat this arch enemy.

And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. Rev. 18:24

Remember the Word of God clearly says,

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Rev. 18:23

Every true believer knows that among her are the great men. Every rung on the ladder of humanity has great men from every walk of life and she has them within her fold because she has deceived them with her sorceries. Now, God is smiting the nations with His sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God and will rule them with a rod of iron. Iron is firm and severe and will be used to rule wicked nations. He will tread them in the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.

For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: Jer 25:15-17

Wine has been used to symbolize wrath and anger, and other conditions of the intellect.

Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Jer. 51:7

The entire chapter tells us how God will tread the wicked down.

16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The beast had a name written on her head : “MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT.”

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Rev. 17:5

Our Lord has a name on his robe and thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Make no mistake about it: our General has two titles and the decorations distinguish him as commander. His army of saints may not be the largest, but they are elite forces who are using the secret weapon known as the word of God.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Rev. 12:11

Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Eph. 6:11-17

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 2 Cor. 10:4

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

In ancient times a battlefield was left for buzzards to come and eat the fallen warriors. This feast of the fowls was called “the Supper of the Great God.” When David met Goliath on the battlefield Goliath threatened to give David’s flesh to the fowls of the air.

And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. I Sam. 17:44

18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.”

This verse is but an extension of the preceding verse with an explanation of who fell in the battle. We must keep in mind that this is highly symbolic of the victory of Jesus and his church fighting the battle against the beast (Catholicism) and winning the war.

19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.

No doubt the power of this world would combine their forces against Christianity. World religions including Catholicism, Islam, Atheism and Secularism will combine their forces with Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto’s, Sikhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. The polytheistic religions, the monotheistic religions, the philosophic and metaphysical religions will all combine their forces against the “Word that proceeds from the mouth of Jesus.”

20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

The two most notable and opposing ones are the beast and the false prophet. These two powers have always been at war against the saints. Today the greatest enemy is the clerics of Islam with their holy jihad of hate against Christianity as the Jesuits of Catholism fought their wars against protestants. Jesus will throw both of them into the lake of fire.

21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

The sword that came out of the mouth of the rider killed the rest of heathenism. There was a moping up of the “die-hards.” This battle has been ongoing since the protestant reformation and will continue till the end of time. This is not “Custer’s last stand.” This is the battle of Armageddon. It is a battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. This war is being fought right now. Christians have put on the armor and are engaged in the thick of battle. This is a defensive and offensive war. The battle of Armageddon is being fought every day in every nation where Christians stand for truth and right. Some are labeled as bigots and others as against the right of free speech, but as the smoke clears the word of God shall prevail. The real arena is the struggle that men have over abortion, prayer in public places, indecency on public airwaves, and pornography.

Three hundred men held the army of one million Persians at the battle of Thermopylae until the Greeks could muster their forces. All three hundred lost their lives that Greece might be free. The reformers such as John Wyclif, Geoffrey, Chaucer, Joan of Arc, The Lollards, John Huss, Luther, John Calvin, Erasmus, Zwingli, John Knox, and the list goes on fought against the tyranny of Rome. This is a battle of ideologies. The Word of God will win the battle because He is on the white horse giving commands.